so sad

it just saddens me that most of us on the board are addicted to pain pills ,benzos' or whatever else there maybe because we were all prescribed them for some reason or another i was so nieve when i was prescribed methadone for back pain and had no clue what it was all about and 3 years later i went through one of the most shi--iest experiences of my life suffering physical w/d for 5 weeks and still suffering physcologically and i go for help and what do they do but put me on klonopin when is this gonna stop alot of us are suffering dependance simply because we have chronic pain or something else we were prescribed it for the klonopin again i was so nieve to until howard 678 warned me i'm sorry but i just had to vent because it just saddens me because most of us are fighting this battle due to prescription drugs i've even read on other thread that people are suffering ssri w/d when is it gonna stop sorry just kind of mystifyed and mad

i wish there was some way of creating a co.......kinda like m.a.d.d....mothers against drunk drivers.....but we would have to create a opiate/or benzo type thing to spread the info to the public in mass before one other kid or adult gets addicted to the crap w/o knowing the consequenses...ive thought about this one for awhile.....wouldnt it be cool to be a chairperson on somethin u.s.a. wide that everyone knew about and then they instituted new laws based on t"the chefob1"experience where as they dont prescribe narcotics unless.....i dont know some sort of saying and just like m.a.d.d. we would have national exposure like a/a or n/a but it involved prescription narco's....there is too big of a loophole here where inncocence in the end can get real ugly.....chef

also, doctors are telling people they can not get addicted to methadone..well, average people do not know the difference between addiction and dependancy..Both send you into horrible w/d. They definately should tell you what happens when you stop taking the meds..

i wish there was some way of creating a co.......kinda like m.a.d.d....mothers against drunk drivers.....but we would have to create a opiate/or benzo type thing to spread the info to the public in mass before one other kid or adult gets addicted to the crap w/o knowing the consequenses...ive thought about this one for awhile.....wouldnt it be cool to be a chairperson on somethin u.s.a. wide that everyone knew about and then they instituted new laws based on t"the chefob1"experience where as they dont prescribe narcotics unless.....i dont know some sort of saying and just like m.a.d.d. we would have national exposure like a/a or n/a but it involved prescription narco's....there is too big of a loophole here where inncocence in the end can get real ugly.....chef

that would be awesome when ifirst stopped methadone i asked my dr when you give out a script like this why not tell people the consequences of long term use and said oh that should happen out the pharmacy a--hole one day my daughter may have a need for this kind of medication and let me tell ya it,s not gonna happen i wish we could dp domething like that now that i have been through this awful w/d and still suffering mentally i want to become a drug councelor the chefob 1 thats awesome your good people chef if you ever start anything i'm there

i wish there was some way of creating a co.......kinda like m.a.d.d....mothers against drunk drivers.....but we would have to create a opiate/or benzo type thing to spread the info to the public in mass before one other kid or adult gets addicted to the crap w/o knowing the consequenses...ive thought about this one for awhile.....wouldnt it be cool to be a chairperson on somethin u.s.a. wide that everyone knew about and then they instituted new laws based on t"the chefob1"experience where as they dont prescribe narcotics unless.....i dont know some sort of saying and just like m.a.d.d. we would have national exposure like a/a or n/a but it involved prescription narco's....there is too big of a loophole here where inncocence in the end can get real ugly.....chef

Yes Chef - you do!

We have it in UK now - both benzos and SSRIs. Prof CH Ashton constantly lobbies our goverment and legislation is changing. A man called Barry Haslam (damaged thro years of benzo use) has been appointed by the UK Govt to be in Brussels helping to draw up the new legal guidelines. Its slow - but its happening.
There are test cases running in the courts. I personally know of one solicitor who has 400 clients who claim to be damaged by the SSRIs and he is hoping to raise an action.
I will have a look on the net for Barry Haslam - he is very politically involved.
So - come on US - time to wake up and start kicking ***?
Your government and your medical profession are cynical and professionally negligent - at the very very least.

Let me just throw something in here that will make for good debate....

Some of us (not all of us) were prescribed pain meds or whatever (for me, pain meds) for legit pain and used them legitamately but somewhere down the line we realized, "Hey, this makes me feel pretty good or this gives me a little more energy or this relaxes me..." and then we knowingly began to abuse these medicines.

That is what I did. I knew once my headaches began diminishing somewhat that I could get by on plain Tylenol or Advil but realized I was "supermom" on these pain meds and I knew I was taking them when I really didn't need them.

Don't you think that some of us (let me reinforce, NOT all) are a little bit responsible for the situation we are in- I am! And I recognize that. Now, I didn't realize that I was literally "re-wiring" my brain at the time, but I knew I was abusing this medicine.

Back in the last century, my gynecologist gave me Percodan for the horrendous headaches (cycle related) I used to get. "Good drug," he told me, "they gave it to me years ago (he was around 70 then) when I had just had surgery...and it stopped the pain and I felt great." Those were his very words..honest-to-goodness!! (Now we're going back to about 1983 or so...before pain meds were high-stepping across the national stage, like The Rockettes!!)

At that time, I had no idea just how "great" I would feel....but soon found out. Only difference was I honestly did not abuse the drug. Thirty tablets could last me six months. He'd told me they were very strong...and so did his nurse/receptionist....so I was very careful. In fact, I took only half a pill at a time.

But, we all know the end of these sorts of "fairytales", because we've all been there. And, although, I never asked for more than that amount he prescribed..it did not take me long to link up the connection between pills...and their good buddy..."addiction". At that point I was not physically hooked--but definitely considered them a "reward" at the end of the week, etc. They became something to look forward to....a mental craving.

You've all heard my crazy story about how, eventually, I began taking the Vicodins offered by my cousin (a true pain sufferer with such nightmarish back and leg problems that she keeps needing surgery.) By that time, my gyn. had retired....so no more percs. But the few hydros a day my cuz gave me substituted for them. I never doctor-shopped, went on-line, etc--but I did take those "alms" offered up by my cuz. She seemed so happy to share them. Maybe because they didn't make her feel much better mentally...and she had more than enough quantity of pills to stop her own very real pain. So...as close family members...it was "all in the family"!? And...I never said "no".

Though I once took more pills than the few a day I do now--I never got to the point where I could face, once and for all, the awful physical and mental withdrawals. (the depression was the worst) Now, my cuz is on just oxys--and I take two 40's a day...but she's going to be re-prescribed the Vicodins...and I'll switch back to that, knowing it is not quite as bad as the oxys. (Not that it's GOOD!) I'm just rationalizing.

To some, my pill intake may seem small--but the fact is, I HAVE to take that amount I do just to fend off the withdrawals and depression. It's addiction no matter how much my brain tries to distort the simple facts. I do consider myself lucky, in that I never wanted to "up" this dosage. In a fairytale world--or in la-la-land....I could say to myself, "well, I take them only "as prescribed". But--hey--I'm not the one they were prescribed for!!!

So, Michelle, this rambling answer to your debate question is, undeniably "Yes! I am definitelyresponsible. Not only did I "see it coming"--but I stepped out to the middle of the road to flag it down!!!" Like you, I had no idea that I was actually re-wiring my brain circuitry. But...no way could I deny that I'm the one who kept moving along this route.

I will fault others only in that (a) my doctor was either naive or ??(who knows!) and (b) the pharmaceutical companies (those little money-making machines) kept it very quiet as to how difficult it was to just "stop taking them." Even today, years later, there are still doctors who say "if you're not an addict, you'll have no problems just stopping this drug." What a load of nonsense!!

But, aside from the above two considerations, no matter how much I would love to place the blame at someone else's feet....I'm afraid that, these drugs--like a boomerang--make a turn--and just come straight back to me.

Like you, I'm interested in the responses to your question. It seems that most of us, like you and I, started down this route prepared for just a short hike--and what we got was an endless trek!!

i totally agree we all got are selves into this but you must agree that these drugs are way over prescribed i definitly need pain medication for a specific reason but i'm just so sad that some of us have to go through this i did'nt want a debate i just wanted to share my thoughts about how i just feel for everyone and how they are so easy to get and become addicted to i mean my pain dr knows i was dependant on methadone and he hands me a prescription for vicodin i'm not one to debate my heart just goes out to all of us fighting this addiction or any other for that matter please don't think i'm just blaming drs but my primary care is the one that got me caught out methadone is an awful drug to be addicted to and i just feel for everyone who now has to suffer w/ds when you go through them you just want to help some else going through it in any way you can sorry i started this whole debate thing but i still think they are way over prescribed and now only that there just a click away yes we made are own mistakes but why can't some one try to make it so that there not so available i have a daughter whos 7 and it terrifys me what it will be like when she grows up we can blame our selves and i take full responsibility for my dependance but i look at my dr as a drug dealer with no middle man sorry if any one disagrees but we all have our own opinion kelleigh

I agree with you Michelle. No blaming the doctors in my case. I loved that stuff....loved it for years. Ever since I puffed the first spliff in grade school I knew what I wanted. Too bad I didn't stick with the herb only. If I could have my wasted days back.....isn't that a Metallica song?

I by all means wasn't trying to dismiss your feelings and turn this into a "battle." I, too, feel burdened that so many people are battling prescription drug addiction. And, yes, I think these drugs are way to available.

My point was, my neurologist was extremely careful with his script writing to me when it came to pain meds, but, I learned how to "manipulate" him. For instance, would call and say the Lorcet wasn't working could I try the Lortab- knowing good and well they were the same thing. I think alot of doctors are to blame for sure, but some, like mine, were careful and it was I that manipulated him and doctor shopped for awhile there. I feel like, in my case, I created my problem. Granted, for some others, it solely relies on their doctor who freely writes a script for 120 a month and never discusses the "consquences." Ya know?

Please don't think I was trying to make light of your feelings- I totally agree with you. I was just "throwing" a little thought provoking idea out for some of us to ponder.

Whooooaaaaaa!!! I KNOW Michelle didn't mean it that way. She's one of the sweetest posters on this Board!!! (And you are too!) You're BOTH right about the painkillers, etc. Hey, please don't feel that you were being criticized.... You know, families who love each other so much..and our dearest friends....those are the people we can have "Give and Take' conversations with and know that whatever we say is not meant to hurt--it's just an exchange of ideas.... And I know that I would prefer to have all kinds of opinions on this Board for me to think about each. Please don't feel bad because another person is just pointing out a subject for possible debate. Everybodys buddies on this Board and cares about one another.

Whooooaaaaaa!!! I KNOW Michelle didn't mean it that way. She's one of the sweetest posters on this Board!!! (And you are too!) You're BOTH right about the painkillers, etc. Hey, please don't feel that you were being criticized.... You know, families who love each other so much..and our dearest friends....those are the people we can have "Give and Take' conversations with and know that whatever we say is not meant to hurt--it's just an exchange of ideas.... And I know that I would prefer to have all kinds of opinions on this Board for me to think about each. Please don't feel bad because another person is just pointing out a subject for possible debate. Everybodys buddies on this Board and cares about one another.

:-)

thanks lynn sorry if i got defensive i'm just still going through alot of emotional w/d and am overly sensitive you guys have been great and again i'm sorry thanks for all your support hugs to you both kelleigh

Kelleigh - please don't worry....I know how emotions can bounce up and down like a yo yo! You've been doing so well....persevering when you've felt so lousy. You've had a lot to feel emotional about! And this is the place to say so, when you do. There are large, sympathetic ears here!! :-) Hugs to you, too, xxx Lynn xxx